


a lover’s reminiscence of twilight

by AlekN



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, F/F, Grief, Implied Sexual Content, Lisa-centric, Mentions of War, Mentions of alcohol, no deaths don't you worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23384845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlekN/pseuds/AlekN
Summary: "But the gods were cruel and to them, tales of young lovers torn asunder by twisted forces outside their control were infinitely more entertaining than anything else."Torn apart by war and bound by their promise, Lisa had been returning to that same spot under the lone white flag at the ancient foothills for ten long years to wait for Sayo.Heavily inspired by the Kalafina song "Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yuugure no".
Relationships: Hikawa Sayo/Imai Lisa, Minato Yukina/Mitake Ran, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 74





	a lover’s reminiscence of twilight

**Author's Note:**

> First fic + written at the dead of night + unbeta'ed because my friend is asleep, so all mistakes belong to me.
> 
> You can listen to [Koibito no Mukashigatari no Yuugure no](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kU_xAFQR-I) here. The translation is a bit rough but its lyrics heavily inspired this fic. Fic title is also the English translation of the song's title.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Lisa’s feet trod the well-worn path towards the foothills. Like clockwork, without fail, she had been making this trip on this very same day for ten long years. All for a single promise she made at twilight.

Tall grass brushed against her as she passed by. They reached her waist now, and she wondered idly, how tall they’d get in another ten years. Would they still look like fields of gold in the sunset? Would they still shield her against harsh winds when she forgot time and stayed long past when the moon came out?

Lisa wondered and wondered and wondered, but she got no answers. All that returned was the whistling of grass in the wind, carrying with it the smell of earth after rain.

Lisa paused in her steps and breathed in a lungful. She closed her eyes. Yukina had chastised her earlier for keeping up what she’d deemed as ‘meaninglessly hopeful’. But what does Yukina know? Ran returned, not unscathed, but she returned nonetheless, as soon as the war ended. Yukina didn’t have to live life jerking up every time the door opened. She didn’t have to anxiously read every single slip of paper pinned on the town’s bulletin board, nor gazing at the town’s gate every time she passed.

Yukina had Ran to come back to every night. All Lisa had was a lone chair and a cold bed.

The longer she stood bathed in silence, the louder her loneliness became. It rose and rose and rose until she could hear nothing but the din in her ears. Her knees buckled under its weight and she let herself fall onto damp soil. Sob after sob wrenched itself out of her, and she made no move to stop it.

Ten years Lisa had waited, clung to the hope that since no one had ever found _her_ , she must still be out there, and that she would come back one day. It was foolish of her, she knew that. Yukina was only looking out for her best friend, worry eating at her when Lisa’s once bright eyes became duller and duller after each trip she returned alone and empty-handed. All their friends had long stopped offering her encouraging wishes, and only pity was left in their eyes, their voices. And Lisa was sick of it—sick of being the only one to believe her knight was still alive, and that she would never break their promise.

She would, wouldn't she?

Lisa closed her eyes and shook her head. She would not let herself go down that path. She would not lose hope. Not now. Not when every bone in her body told her otherwise. Not when she still felt _it_ pulsed deep in her soul. That unshakable bond they had made.

Heaving another lungful, she stood up and dusted her dress as best she could. It was the same dress she’d worn ten years ago, when they promised they’d find their way back to each other again. The promise that they’d made before the earth and sky; that they’d sealed with every sigh, every choked moan, and every time their lips met. And Sayo was never one to break her promise.

Lisa pressed on, stepping further and further into the grass, where dirt paths could not follow. She could see the hills from here, tall and imposing in that ancient, primal way. And right at their foot, was a single white banner fluttering in the winds. No one knew who planted it there, nor when. No one knew what purpose it served either. But everyone feared it all the same.

Not Lisa.

She’d been drawn to that lonely thing ever since an elder warned all the kids not to play there. He said it had been cursed and hexed and all sorts of other scary things. And afterwards, inevitably, when they all dared each other to go and touch the flag, young Lisa—rosy cheeks and flowers in her hair—raised her hand without hesitation. But she wasn’t alone. A kid she’d never had the chance to talk to, as quiet as her twin was loud, also volunteered. She said she’d read about the flag in a giant, dusty tome, and wanted to see it for herself. She’d also looked away and mumbled under her breath—but Lisa heard anyway—that she would never let a princess go into danger all by herself. In the end, Lisa had to hold onto the girl’s hand and lead her back to town, streaks of dried snots and tears clung to her round face; and Lisa had fallen in love even before she knew what it meant.

Her steps slowed when the top of the banner came into sight. They’d been through so much together. When Sayo almost lost herself trying desperately to find something of her own—something to get her out from under the shadow of her twin Hina—Lisa never once faltered in her support. The support that Sayo repaid in her own terms when it was Lisa’s turn, too set in her ways to realize what her friends truly needed. They’d learned and grown together, and somewhere along the way, realized they could never truly be content without the other by their side.

But the gods were cruel and to them, tales of young lovers torn asunder by twisted forces outside their control were infinitely more entertaining than anything else.

A war brewed when they least expected it—just shy of a week after Sayo finally worked up the courage to confess. They had barely been adults, barely prepared for the storms outside their quiet little town. And yet, Sayo was one of half a dozen chosen to represent their town. She had acted tough, consoling Hina and their friends, only to break down sobbing into the crook of Lisa’s neck when it was just the two of them at the base of the flag. They’d made the promise then, in repeated hushed whispers into each other’s skin before the ancient hills—before the lone white banner that had stood sentinel since before time.

Lisa’s heart throbbed painfully with each memory. They came fresh to her as though it was just yesterday and, at times, she resented them. But on most days, they were her only source of strength, along with snippets of stories Ran told whenever she had a bottle too many at their town’s numerous festivals. Sayo had taken up the bow and arrow so easily it was as if she’d been trained for it all her life. Her skills and all those knowledges she’d gathered from dusty tomes helped her rise quickly in rank and before long, she had led their charges to victory after victory. And then, after their most vital and bloodiest battle near the end, she disappeared. No one cared to find her except the five that knew her most, and they all came home with empty hands and heavy hearts.

Yukina would often find Ran then, and glared holes into her skull until she clamped her mouth and sent apologetic glances back at Lisa—or both Lisa and Hina—as she was dragged away. But Lisa was more than grateful. It helped her feel at ease somewhat, knowing what her love had accomplished for herself, and helped bring peace back to their land along the way.

Lisa let out a small contented smile at that, her heart felt a bit lighter for the first time in ten long years. Her smile dropped, however, when the white flag billowed in the twilight wind across the grass field, and before it stood a lone figure. She was thin—thinner than Lisa remembered—and the coat she wore almost dwarfed her figure entirely. There was a staff in her hand that she leaned against heavily, and a small bag lying at her feet. Her hair—still in the shade Lisa loved so much—was left to flow freely in the wind. Their light strands framed her face, gaunt and marred with an ugly scar that ran from brow to chin, but no less lovely. And when she smiled—in that same way she always did, small and almost embarrassed—Lisa forwent any sliver of logic that told her it was just a mirage, a twisted thing her mind conjured up, and ran. 

Fresh tears and harsh winds stung her eyes, and she stumbled half a dozen times, but it was all worth it when Sayo caught her, arms encircled her inside her warmth. Lisa sobbed into her thick coat that smelled of the earth and grass and something so inherently Sayo that she could have never dreamt up all on her own. Her heart felt like it could burst from happiness when Sayo ran clumsy fingers through her brown waves. Her fingertips were rough when they cupped Lisa’s face, trying her best to wipe the tears away. Sayo was crying too, quiet and heavy with all the years they’d been apart.

Lisa took a long gaze at the face of her brave knight, at the hard lines that had been carved into it, at the soft lips that she knew would feel the same as back then, at the bright green eyes that still looked at her as though she was a real princess and not some farmer’s daughter. When she decided for herself that it was enough, Lisa finally rested their foreheads together, and breathed—

“Welcome back.”

“I’m home.”

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was writing my long ass NFO-inspired SayoLisa fantasy AU and listening to Koibito when I blacked out and woke up to this. I intended for the NFO fic to be my first ever fanfic, but I guess this one wins.
> 
> Let me know what you think in the comments!


End file.
